What happened to law and

order when the Romans

left?

By the end of this section you should be able to…

•Explain how Anglo-Saxon society made laws and kept law and order

•Understand the role of the local community and the king in law making and law enforcement

•Analyse the similarities and differences between Anglo-Saxon and Roman law and order

•What information does the source tell us?

•Who produced the source? When? Why?

Think!

Extract from ‘The Laws of King Alfred the Great, 871-899’•“If anyone steals anything in church he is to pay the normal fine and then have his hand struck off.•If a pregnant woman is murdered, the killer is to pay the full wergild for the woman and half for the child.•If at work one man accidentally kills another by letting a tree fall on him, the tree is to be given to the dead man’s kinsmen.•If anyone is born dumb or deaf so that he cannot deny or confess his sins then his father is to pay compensation for his crimes.•If anyone lends his weapon to another so that he may kill a man he is to pay a third of the wergild•If a dog bites or tears a man to death the owner is to pay 6 shillings for the first offence, on a second occasion 12 shillings.•If anyone fights in the presence of the king’s officials he is to pay wergild and also 120 shillings to the officials as a fine.•If anyone neglects the rules of the Church in lent he is to pay 120 shillings.•These days are to be given to all free men, but not to slaves or unfree labourers: 12 days at Christmas, and the days on which Christ overcame the Devil [15th Feb]and the anniversary of St Gregory and seven days at Easter and seven days after, one day at the feast of St Peter, St Paul, and in harvest time the whole week before the feast of St Mary and one day at the feast of All Saints.”

What can we learn from the extract below about Anglo-Saxon Law and Order?

Anglo-Saxon society and law and order

When the Roman Empire collapsed in the 5th century CE, their system of law and order largely collapsed too. North German tribes such as Angles, Saxons, and Jutes took over. They used more basic, small-scale and local systems.

Them, much of eastern and northern England was taken over by the Danes and Vikings who made their own laws. This meant there were many different systems of law across Britain.

Quiz

•Name two tribes than moved to Britain following the collapse of the Roman Empire.

Q1

•What was trial by ordeal?

Q2

•Name two major crimes in Anglo-Saxon society.

Q3

•What was the concept of the blood feud?

Q4

•What were ‘tithings’.

Q5

Extract from ‘The Laws of King Alfred the Great, 871-899’•“If anyone steals anything in church he is to pay the normal fine and then have his hand struck off.•If a pregnant woman is murdered, the killer is to pay the full wergild for the woman and half for the child.•If at work one man accidentally kills another by letting a tree fall on him, the tree is to be given to the dead man’s kinsmen.•If anyone is born dumb or deaf so that he cannot deny or confess his sins then his father is to pay compensation for his crimes.•If anyone lends his weapon to another so that he may kill a man he is to pay a third of the wergild•If a dog bites or tears a man to death the owner is to pay 6 shillings for the first offence, on a second occasion 12 shillings.•If anyone fights in the presence of the king’s officials he is to pay wergild and also 120 shillings to the officials as a fine.•If anyone neglects the rules of the Church in lent he is to pay 120 shillings.•These days are to be given to all free men, but not to slaves or unfree labourers: 12 days at Christmas, and the days on which Christ overcame the Devil [15th Feb]and the anniversary of St Gregory and seven days at Easter and seven days after, one day at the feast of St Peter, St Paul, and in harvest time the whole week before the feast of St Mary and one day at the feast of All Saints.”

What can we learn from the extract below about Anglo-Saxon Law and Order?

Anglo-Saxon law and order

Explain the Anglo-Saxon right known as the Blood Feud What problems did the Blood Feud cause?

What were Wergilds and how did they operate? What do you think the benefits and problems of using Wergilds were?

What was the Tithing system, and what were its strengths and weaknesses?

Anglo-Saxon law and order Explain the role of each of the following in keeping law and order

Family The King

The Church

Source A Some of the laws from the code issued by Alfred the Great, 871-899.6. If anyone steals anything in church he is to pay to normal fine then have his hand struck off.

9. If a pregnant woman is murdered, the killer is to pay the full wergild for the woman and half for the child.

40. If anyone neglects the rules of the Church in Lent he is to pay 120 shillings. (1 shilling is roughly worth £100 today)

Source B An extract from the code of laws drawn up in the early 11th Century for Ethelred and Cnut by Archbishop Wulfstan. It shows the views of the church on capital punishment just before the Norman Conquest.‘Christian men shall not be condemned to death for all too little; but one shall determine lenient punishments for the benefit of the people, and not destroy for a little matter God’s own handiwork...’

Q1. source A shows connections between religion, the Church and crime. Is it different from or similar to roman times? How?

Q2. What new attitude to punishment can we see in source B?

Q3. What were the similarities and differences between Roman and Anglo-Saxon methods of punishment?

Anglo-Saxon law and order